The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-25
THE TRAIN DISPATCHER.
a Nan Who Holds the Life of Every
Passenger in His Hand.
From, the Phaodelnhia Times.

~ b~dn w no HOlQS CnS Lie OF EVERY
Passenger in His Hand.
From the Philadelphia Times
The travelling public have long been wont
to bestow approval upon railway engineers
for the self-sacrificing spirit which they ex-
hibit when the lives entrusted to their care
are endangered, and in the annals of the rail
these occurrences are SO frequent that
passengers generally picture the man at the
throttle of the locomotive as a horo by vir-
tue of his position. These opinions are de-
servedly held, and it would be the grossest
injustice to detract from the honor which
self-abnegatiOn always merits; but there is a
class of railway employs, almost entirely
unknown to passengers, whose responsibility
is SO much greater and whose slightest
omission might jeopardize the lives of peo-
pie on trains more than any oversight on
the part of conductors or engineers, that it
is indeed Strange that they are SO seldom
mentioned in the public prints.
This class is the train dispatchers, whose
every order is implicitly obeyed by train
men; aud while the crew of one train is re-
sponsible for the movement of that train
alone, the dispatcher holds in his hands the
lives of every individual on every train on
the road and on road having a large
traffic the duties imposed on him are very
great and arduous.
Ills pOSlulOu Ill Un6 railway SERVICE Is
unique; were all trains running on time and
provided for on the periodical time table is
sued by the company, he would have no
duties to perform; but trains will get de-
layed and occasions will arise requiring
extra trains, or trains without any specified
time or rights, to be run over the road, and
then his services are necessary to avoid hours
of delay
All trains on railroads are divided in
70 inn
orally two, passenger and freight; and all
trains OF one class running in a specified di-
rection have the light to the road, or need keep
no lookout for trains of the same or a lower
class running in the opposite direction.
Thus it is assumed that on certain railroad
trains running eastward have the right of
way over trains RUNNING westward; then
an east-bound passenger train can run the
whole length of the road in entire disregard
of all trains; another passenger train going
west need only look out for the east-bound
passenger train, while the freight trains
must keep out of the way of both passenger
trains and of the freight train which is run
ming in the direction prescribed as having
the right of road.
Every one understands that all trains are
charted or have a time given for passing
each station, which time can in no instance
be anticipated, and hence all train men
know where all other trains ought to be at
any particular moment, if on time; but as
trains frequently and generally get late the
train of inferior class must have its move
ment expedited by some extraneous cause
or it may be delayed for hours awaiting
train that may have been wrecked or has
been kept back for some other of many
causes. Then the duties of the train dis
patcher are of importance. He will proba-
bly, give an order to the delayed train by
telegraph, directing it not to go beyond
certain place which he thinks it can reach
without difficulty, and he directs the OPP
posing train to proceed to the same place
and there pass the other train, and in that
manner the trains are enabled to pass each
other without any delay to either. His
great responsibility cosists in that he may
have dozen other trains in his charge at
the same time, and in directing one train to
go beyond its usual place to meet another
he may neglect to give an order to the sec
ond train and in such an event collision
would probably ensue, much property be
destroyed and probably lives be lost
1t will readily be seen that the slightest
mistake of a train dispatcher might cause
serious results; and in this respect his re-
sponsibility is probably greater than that of
any other individual under whose charge the
public are placed. A pilot on a vessel may
lose his reckoning but the fact soon be-
comes apparent to others, and his capacity
for mischief is thereby lessened; other rail
way employees may neglect their duties, and
rush head long into danger, but their
associates generally realize the situation be-
fore any unfortunate results ensue but the
slightest behest of train dispatcher must
be obeyed without question; even though to
do so would jeopardize the lives of those
receiving the orders-though of course until
an accident results the train men are igno-
rant of the fact that they have been given
wrong directions
Instances of oversight of dispatchers are
extremely rare-much less than of neglect
of conductors and engineers to adhere to the
orders given to theTn-and while they per-
form their onerous duties almost entirely
unknown to the people whose lives they
have in their control and therefore never
receive the need of praise due them, travel
ers ought at least be made acquainted with
their duties and the important part they
play in the rapid and safe movement of pas
sengers.